Flatline
by Belied
Summary: Please leave a message after the tone. Rated T for minor profanities. Written by J.


**A/N: **Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Playing around with voice and such.

**Disclaimer:** I wish.

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><p><em>Please leave a message after the tone.<em>

⌠ Moyashi, it's me. Pick up damn the phone, will you? ⌡

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><p><em>26 new messages.<em>

_December 24__th__, Tuesday, 8:37 PM_

⌠Allen, it's me, Lenalee. Are you feeling any better? I just wanted to wish you an early happy birthday. I'll visit soon, okay?⌡

Lenalee hates it. The smell of hospitals, she hates it. The stench of cleanliness and pale mint walls are supposed to be comforting, but they're the exact opposite. Burnt flesh as well, she recognizes, throttling. Seeing Allen propped up against pillows and staring into space is oddly reminiscent—and it doesn't help one bit, this hospital and its smell.

.

_December 25__th__, 12:00 AM_

⌠Allen! Happy birthday! Tykki tells me you're sick. You should come over and play as soon as you get better, yes? ⌡

Rhode is terribly bored. She entertains herself with the many critters hiding the corners of the mansion. Her favorite is the spider. She likes to torment them, see, trap them in cups and drown them in the bathroom sink. Sometimes she tears off their legs, one by one, laughs at how they writhe in desperate frenzy to get the fuck away from this girl, this—

But then Rhode remembers how much more fun Allen was. He was much more durable, see, and a bigger target.

.

_December 25__th__, Wednesday, 12:01 AM_

⌠ Hey Allen! Lavi here. I better be the first to wish you this. Happy birthday, man! You're sixteen now, aren't you? Hurry and recover so we can celebrate! ⌡

Lavi does not consider birthdays to be terribly special. Especially when you know that your birthday(s) comes on 49 days out of the 365 in a year. But Lavi cannot help but wonder exactly what day Allen was born on.

.

_December 25__th__, Wednesday, _1:05 PM

⌠ Hey birthday boy! See you in… oh say, thirty minutes? Komui sends his regards—stop that, Ni-san! Sorry about that…. Anyway, see you soon!⌡

The doctors tell Lenalee that Allen can hear her. Truthfully, it's like talking a brick wall, better yet, talking to herself.

But she still does.

"Hi Allen. It's been roughly a month since you've first arrived. We're—Lavi, Kanda, and I—doing well. Lavi's beginning to travel again, so we don't see him much anymore. Kanda is, well… Kanda. I feel like he's been on edge more since you… yeah. Anyway, the Order's been great. It's been relatively quieter though. But some things never change. I wonder how many more defective robots my brother can dream up."

Lenalee stands, eyes downcast as she traces circles on the open palm of his heavily scarred arm the color of blood, so lovely, so red, red, _red_, redred_redRED_—

She presses her lips to the sanguine pentacle on his forehead before leaving.

.

_December 25__th__, Thursday, 10:23 PM_

⌠ Hi, Allen. This is Miranda Lotto. Did you get the package in the mail? I hope you enjoy it; I got it straight from Germany. Happy birthday! ⌡

Miranda was eternally grateful for exorcists. She might've always been a good-for-nothing if it hadn't been for Allen Walker and Lenalee Li, bless them.

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_December 25__th__, Wednesday, 10:25 PM_

⌠ Oi, Moyashi. Pick up the damn phone. Fuck this—⌡

I hate you, Beansprout. How the fuck can I meditate when you plague my thoughts?

.

_December 27__th__, Friday, 11:34 PM_

⌠ Hey, idiot apprentice. I heard it was your birthday today, so look in the mail about a week from now. Take care of that, won't you? ⌡

Cross was not as heartless as Allen believed he was. Some part of him loved Allen as Mana loved Neah—

—just not enough to remember his birthday or exploit his devilish talents.

.

_December 30__th__, Monday, 11:10 AM_

⌠It's Lenalee. Did you like the present? When are you being released from the hospital? The Order misses you dearly! ⌡

The package had come, wrapped in paper the color of the midnight sky with a white envelope taped to its top.

• Allen,

This is a late Christmas and birthday gift, sorry. It'll probably arrive a couple days late. But anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy it. I'll have you know that I helped Jerry make it! Also, there's some pocket change in the envelope, is case you haven't found it yet. I'm so uncreative….

Have a good one!

_Lenalee_ •

Allen had yet to open it, let alone read it.

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_January 1__st__, Wednesday, 12:01 AM_

⌠ Hey Allen! Happy New Years! I'm traveling to Italy with the Panda. I swear, I'm being over worked…. I hope you're hanging in there.⌡

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_January 5__th__, Sunday, 3:34 AM_

⌠ Moyashi. You should seriously heal faster so the rabbit and Lenalee will get the fuck off my case. Damn you. ⌡

.

_January 13__th__, Monday, 4:44 PM_

⌠ Hey Allen, it's Lavi. I haven't called in a while. How are you?⌡

.

_January 23__rd__, Thursday, 6:56 AM_

⌠ Sprout. Have you spoken to the doctors yet? ⌡

"What's his score, Matron?"

The boy had once been a lively youth. Could this really be him, the one with the steely eyes and ethereal smile despite the many ordeals he had gone through?

"_Matron._"

She inclines her head as if acknowledging the doctor's presence.

"What's his score?"

The number nearly chokes her, but she speaks in a severe tone.

"Five."

.

_February 14__th__, Friday, 8:04 AM_

⌠ Happy Valentine's Day, Allen! You're _still_ not well? You should save Lero the trouble of keeping me company, Allen. Save some chocolate for me, yes?⌡

.

_February 14__th__, Friday, 7:16 PM_

⌠ Hi Allen, Lenalee here. Happy Single Awareness Day! Did you get any chocolate? ⌡

.

_March 4__th__, Tuesday, 6:42 AM_

⌠ Walker. You're not going to get better, are you? ⌡

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_March 5__th__, Wednesday, 1:38 PM_

⌠ It's Lenalee. Long time no chat, Allen. How are you feeling? The Order's just not the same without you, Allen. Get well soon!⌡

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_March 12__th__, Wednesday, 5:45 PM_

⌠ Moyashi. You should hurry up.⌡

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_March 17__th__, Monday, 2:01 PM _

⌠ You're not going to die are you?⌡

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_March 19__th__, Wednesday, 9:30 AM_

⌠ Don't die on us.⌡

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_March 20__th__, Thursday, 5:59 PM_

⌠ I need a sparring partner. ⌡

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_March 21__st__, Friday, 12:15 PM_

⌠ Hey man, it's Lavi. China's great. When you get better, you should really visit. You'd like the mountains, I think. I'm going to England soon. You're British, aren't you?⌡

_Guì lín _was truly beautiful. The sloping mountains and hills resembled obelisks of stone and life. Water so clear, that its rock beds were fully visible. Quaint villages and towering pagodas dotted the landscape. Occasionally, fishermen set to work, lanterns reflecting on the water surface, especially beautiful at dusk. The fish swarmed to that light, their cast ripples echoed for miles and miles.

Lavi's favorite was the caves, the stalagmites and stalactites iridescent. Perhaps it was artificial lighting, but he'd never know.

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_March 23__rd__, Sunday, 9:55 PM_

⌠ Fuck you. Don't die on me.⌡

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_March 24__th__, Monday, 8:54 AM_

⌠ You could at least stop lying, you know. Just die already.⌡

.

March 26th, Wednesday, 10:30 PM

⌠ I'm impatient, brat. If you die, I'll cut you up.⌡

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_March 27__th__, Wednesday, 4:44 AM_

⌠ I hate you, Allen.⌡

_Please leave a message after the tone._

For once in his life, Kanda could not speak.

The tone bore a striking likeness to the flatline of an electrocardiogram.

**†**

_March 28__th__, Thursday, 3:43 PM_

⌠ See you there, Allen. See you there. I'll cut you up when I get there, so wait for me, will you?⌡

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><p><strong>AN: Open to your own interpretation. **The whole Kanda and Lenalee thing can be considered shipping, but I intended for it to be platonic. I'm not a humorous person, but I try. -wilts-

What a big-ass metaphor. ._. Those cross symbols are so ironic. Everything is ironic, lawl. And does anyone else see the font changes? I can't seem to fix it. It's probably 'cause I'm so abusive of the alt-code.

If any of you ever go to China, you _must_ go to _Guì lín._ It's beautiful. -dreamy sigh- I went there when I visited relatives last summer.

The "score" the doctors were talking about is the _Glasgow Coma Scale._ The higher the score, the better. It ranges from three to 15. Thank god for Wikipedia. -_-"

**Thank you all for reading. Please report all mistakes to me. All forms of reviews are accepted.**

**-J**


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